CHAPTER FIVE

Eastern Maryland, near the Choptank River
Monday, November 20, 1854
Near sunrise

Ann watched as Daddy struggled to catch up. She could no longer tell the difference between the hoofbeats and her own heartbeat. Seconds felt like hours.

And then Daddy made it to the house, just behind the other men. They knocked on the door and were let inside. Ann let out the breath she’d been holding. Next to her, Mama exhaled too. Seconds later a wagon came into view. It stopped in front of the house. A white man climbed down from the seat and knocked on the door.

Ann kept her fingers crossed, hoping he was one of the helpers on the Underground Railroad. Daddy had said some of the people at stations would be white. Ann and Paul had been surprised that white people helped Negroes hide, but Daddy had said, “Good and bad come in every size, shape, and color.” If this man wasn’t a helper, there would be trouble.

A woman opened the door, talked to the man for a little while, and then handed him a basket of something. They were too far away to hear anything, but the man nodded and left again.

Paul whispered, “Good. He’s leaving.”

After the wagon was gone from sight Paul asked, “Mama, can we go to the house now too?”

“No,” whispered Mama. “Your daddy said wait until dark.”

Ann knew darkness was a long way off. The sun had just come up. Mama gave them another piece of pork and told them to lie down after they ate.

Now that she was still, Ann realized all the muscles in her body were tired. They had walked two nights in a row. Their rest had been cut short yesterday when Nathan found them. She lay down and let herself fall asleep.

When Ann woke again, it was dusk. Paul was staring at her. Mama and Elizabeth were sound asleep. Paul pointed at Mama and then pointed toward the house. Ann knew he wanted to go be with Daddy. She shook her head at him. Paul was going to have to learn to be patient. The sun wasn’t even all the way down yet.

As soon as it was dark, Mama woke up. It was like her body had told her it was time. The four of them crouched in the bushes and watched the house for a while. All was quiet.

Mama said, “Ann, you go first. Paul, you follow Ann. I want to be in back so I know I’m not leaving anyone behind.”

Ann nodded. Without Daddy to take the lead, it was her job to help Mama, and she would not fail. She couldn’t fail. She crept out of the bushes so carefully the leaves barely rustled. She looked at the house. It seemed like the lantern on the porch was welcoming her.

A wagon must have gotten there while they were asleep, because Ann hadn’t noticed it before. She looked back at the bushes. Paul peeked at her, and she motioned for him to come on.

But just as Paul came out of the bushes, a bunch of shouting came from the house. The door opened, and a man with a gun made two of the runaways from earlier get on the wagon. Another man came out, pushing the boy along.

Ann dove back into the bushes and watched in horror as slave catchers forced their three friends onto the wagon. The man with the gun guarded them, and the other one went back in. There was more hollering… and a gunshot.

Suddenly more people than Ann could count came running out of the house. Ann could tell some of them were runaways, and some of them were slave catchers.

Baby Elizabeth started to holler, so Mama nursed her to keep her quiet. The men hadn’t heard the baby over all of the screaming.

Ann couldn’t bear to watch what was happening, and she didn’t want Paul to see it. She pulled Paul close and covered both of their faces. She felt Mama lay down in the bushes next to them. Tears stung Ann’s eyes, even though they were pressed against her sleeve.

“Get him!” someone yelled.

“He went that way,” said another voice.

Ann had no idea how many of the slaves had been caught, but she heard the wagon leave. After a while, the night was quiet again. The only sound was Mama trying not to make noise while she cried. They waited until the moon was high in the sky, but Daddy never came back.

Finally Mama whispered, “We have to go back.”

“To the river?” asked Paul.

“No,” said Mama. “We have to go back home to the farm. We can’t go on without Daddy.”

Ann knew going home was a mistake. Their only hope of survival was ahead of them—not behind them. That meant she would have to lead her family to the North. She would have to be a conductor on the Underground Railroad.